Skill Level: Beginner
In this quick tutorial you'll learn how to create your own bokeh brush, and apply the effect to photos with really cool results.
First select your Brush Tool, and choose a standard round brush.
In the Brush Presets box, set the size to 150px, the Hardness to 80%, and the Spacing to 300%.
Next click on Shape Dynamics, and set the Size Jitter to 50%.
Then click on Scattering, and set the Scatter to 1000%.
Now click on Color Dynamics and set the Hue Jitter to 50%, and the Brightness Jitter to 15%.
Finally tick the Wet Edges option.
To save this brush, click on the button in the bottom right corner.
Give your brush a name and click OK.
Now, when you open your Brush Presets, you'll find your new brush at the bottom.
So let's try out your new brush. First choose a light colour.
Now, you could set the brush's blending mode to Overlay and paint directly on to your image, but it's always better to use layers when adding effects to photos, so create a new layer and set just the layer's blending mode to Overlay.
Build up layers of brush strokes so they overlap each other.
You can duplicate the layer to strengthen the effect.
Also, try tweaking some of the brush presets like the Hue Jitter or Size Jitter, for different results.
Apply a Gaussian Blur set to 6 px to blur some of your layers.
